LONDON (AFX) - Daily Mail & General Trust, the UK newspaper publisher, this morning insisted that the recent re-launch of its London afternoon freesheet did not threaten the future of the Evening Standard.
Finance director Peter Williams scotched speculation that London Lite's increasingly fierce struggle with News International's The London Paper would wipe 15 mln stg off profits in the coming year alone.
'We don't see this as being enormously expensive for us. The figure mentioned (15 mln stg) is over the top, it's going to be less,' Williams told reporters on a conference call.
And he dismissed talk that the aggressive promotion of London Lite would further reduce the paid-for Evening Standard's circulation, possibly leading to the closure of the loss-making title. 'I absolutely do not expect the Standard to close,' he said.
DMGT this morning published a downbeat trading update for the year to Oct 1, in which it warned that it would make only 'modest' progress this year due to the continued weakness in the UK's advertising market.
The shares fell 5-1/2 pence to 582-1/2 by 9.55 am after warning that ad revenues at its national newspaper division plunged 6 pct on a like-for-like basis in the 11 months to the end of August.
The Evening Standard's circulation fell by 7 pct over that period, underlining the cost of the escalating turf war in London's afternoon freesheet market.
Williams said he was 'pleased' with the performance of London Lite since its late August re-launch, just days before The London Paper hit the streets. Its circulation was 'very close' to the 400,000 target, he added.
At its Northcliffe regional newspaper unit advertising revenues plunged 8 pct in the 11 months to August, weighed down by a drop of nearly 17 pct in jobs ads.
A restructuring programme at Northcliffe, for which DMGT failed to find a buyer earlier this year, will result in an exceptional charge of some 40 mln stg over the fiscal year.
Like all other regional newspaper publishers, DMGT has been hard hit by the continued migration of classified ads to the internet.
Meanwhile at its business information unit, which now accounts for around half of group profits, underlying revenues for the full year are expected to surge 22 pct, with margins set to improve, said DMGT. simon.duke@afxnews.com sd/tc COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2005. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited
Finance director Peter Williams scotched speculation that London Lite's increasingly fierce struggle with News International's The London Paper would wipe 15 mln stg off profits in the coming year alone.
'We don't see this as being enormously expensive for us. The figure mentioned (15 mln stg) is over the top, it's going to be less,' Williams told reporters on a conference call.
And he dismissed talk that the aggressive promotion of London Lite would further reduce the paid-for Evening Standard's circulation, possibly leading to the closure of the loss-making title. 'I absolutely do not expect the Standard to close,' he said.
DMGT this morning published a downbeat trading update for the year to Oct 1, in which it warned that it would make only 'modest' progress this year due to the continued weakness in the UK's advertising market.
The shares fell 5-1/2 pence to 582-1/2 by 9.55 am after warning that ad revenues at its national newspaper division plunged 6 pct on a like-for-like basis in the 11 months to the end of August.
The Evening Standard's circulation fell by 7 pct over that period, underlining the cost of the escalating turf war in London's afternoon freesheet market.
Williams said he was 'pleased' with the performance of London Lite since its late August re-launch, just days before The London Paper hit the streets. Its circulation was 'very close' to the 400,000 target, he added.
At its Northcliffe regional newspaper unit advertising revenues plunged 8 pct in the 11 months to August, weighed down by a drop of nearly 17 pct in jobs ads.
A restructuring programme at Northcliffe, for which DMGT failed to find a buyer earlier this year, will result in an exceptional charge of some 40 mln stg over the fiscal year.
Like all other regional newspaper publishers, DMGT has been hard hit by the continued migration of classified ads to the internet.
Meanwhile at its business information unit, which now accounts for around half of group profits, underlying revenues for the full year are expected to surge 22 pct, with margins set to improve, said DMGT. simon.duke@afxnews.com sd/tc COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2005. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News. AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited
